Grateful residents' messages of thanks to 'professional, empathetic and skilled' firefighters
The coronavirus outbreak and the February floods have prompted grateful Shropshire residents to thank the fire service for their work.
A woman from Telford called the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service to thank and record her appreciation “in these difficult times”. Another family praised the “wonderful, extremely helpful” firefighters who rescued them from their car which was stuck in flood water in Atcham.
Other messages report crews “did a great job” responding to a car fire in Shifnal earlier this month and were “professional, empathetic and skilled” releasing a young girl’s fingers from a lift mechanism in a Telford car park.
Compliments, as well as complaints, are routinely summarised for the Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority in an annual report.
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Among the most recent messages, one referred to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A phone call was received from a Telford resident who wished to thank us all for everything we are doing in these difficult times,” says a posted summary.
“She wanted to let us know that we are appreciated and asked that this was passed on to everyone in the fire service from herself and her husband.”
Earlier messages concern the floods which resulted from storms Ciara and Dennis, which hit in early February and led to the River Severn inundating Ironbridge and Shrewsbury.
'Wonderful'
One message said: “I would like to pass on my sincerest thanks to all of the firefighters who rescued us and our car from a flooded area near Atcham.
“The team were wonderful, extremely helpful and nothing was too much trouble for them.”
The messages are among the 36 formal compliments recorded and posted on the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service website since April 2019.
One praised “Blue Watch”, who helped release a young girl’s fingers from the lift at Southwater car park in September 2019. She suffered bruising but a hospital check confirmed no bones were broken.
“They were very quick to respond and very calm and warm towards my little girl,” it said.
“What a great team of professional, empathetic and skilled firefighters.”
Earlier this month, a Shifnal resident also wrote: “This evening we were helped out by the local response team regarding a car fire in a field of ours, which we couldn’t thank the team enough for. They were lovely and friendly and did a great job.”
